Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1887-08-19
SOMETHING ABOUT vlOLlNS.
The Lost secret of the Cremona VAR
nish-Bows, Rosin, aud strings.

ury violin makers have been striving TO
rediscover the lost art of compromising
and applying what is called "Cremona
varnish.h
1.-The lost secret is ths The
Cremona is two varnshes, and those
varnishes always heterogeneous
is to say. first the pores of the wood are
filed and the grain shown up by one,
by two, by three. and sometimes,
though rarely, by four coats Of fine oil
varnish. with some common but clear
gum in solution. Then upon this oil
varnsh, when dry, is laid heterogen-
Gus varnish-viz., n solution in spirit
of some sovereign, highcolored, pei
lucid, and above all, render gum,
Gumlac, which for forty years has been
the mainstay of violin-makers, must
never be used; not one atom Of it. That
vie, fl MY gum killed varnsh at Naples
and PiacenZa hundred and forty
years ago. as it kills varnish now. Old
Cremona Stunned it, and whoever en-
ploys a grain of it commits willful
suicide as a Cremonese varnisher .....
The deep red varnish of Cremona is
pure dragons blood-not the cake, the
stick, the filthy trash which, in this sim
full and adultering generation, is re-
tailed under the name, but the tear of
dragons blood. little Jumps deeper in
color than carbuncle, clear as crystal,
and fiery as ruby. Unadulterated
dragons blood does not exist in COM
merce west of Temple bar; but you can
get it by cropping in the city as hard rs
Diogenes had to gropc for an honest
man in a much less knaviSh town than
, London. The yellow yarnish is the
unadulterated tear of another gum,
retailed in cake Ike dragons blood.
and as great fraud. All cakes and
sticks presented to you n commerce as
gums are audacious swndies. A true
yellow tear as for the red, grope the city
harder than Diogenes.
While the varnish of a violin is fire.
: quently its chief beauty, TO apply it as
process for this high pressure age.
The substances used should possess
sufficient elasticity TO yield to the
slight expansion or contraction Of the
= fbers in the extremes of temperature,
and from the first prevent decay. Var
niShers of the present day commonly
begin their task by applying a sizing
= of gamboge, aloes. and spirits of wine,
;, which is carefully laid on with camel 5
: hair brush. Then follow perhaps a
i dozen coatings of the varnish proper,
which may consist If mastc, brittle
dammar, and the pigment prepared in
u some essential oil. When the desired
= shade is reached a small percentage OF
: pure linseed oil may be added. After
filtering the mixture it is ready for use.
Each coat should be rubbed smooth be-
fore another is added. The best per cd
= for vanishing is from July to Septemb.
err. The materials used in construction
) affect the brilliancy of varnish. Swiss
= deal and Tyrolese pine show the
! beauties of light and shade excellently,
Il as do some selections of American
Is spruce and maple. Any wood presents
y n brighter appearance if vanished
, after the last touches Of the smooth
ng-iron, emitting both sardpaper and
, emery-cloth.
= Without bow the leading instru-
y ment is reduced to status beneath the
guitar. Soon after the violin became
u of established ut lily, ingenuity was
. displayed in making appropriate bows.
. In the seventeenth century the first
specimens WORTH of the name appear
! ed. The next hundred years brought
q improvements in adjusting the strain
D.. of the hair and 50 shaping the wood as
= TO increase It's asticity. The king of
bowmakers was born in Paris, l747;
- his name Francis Tourte. He was ear
= ly in life clockn!akcr's apprentice,
and is said never to have known how to
read and write; but he apprec ated the
necessity of better bows than violinists
could procure. Experiments develop
ed the fact that Pernambuco wood best
, comb ned requisite strength, spring,
and lightness for perfect article. In
his day, as now, the wood was import
ed for dyeing purposes. 1t is difficult
to obtain in desirable dondit on, hav-
ing many crooks, knots, and cracks
v within the sticks. Always expensive,
| in Tourte's day it often costs shllings
J pound. He decided on a total length
of twenty-nine and one half inches, the
. haired part having an available surface
: of twenty-six. The bow to be of value
must be bent by heat so applied that the
: inner fibres of the wood are thoroughly
: affected. or the shape will soon be lost.
: The horse-hair requires as much care
, In selection as the wood. Each strand
should be equally cylindrical throughout